On my walk today a feather drifted down right in front of me. It tickled me on the nose. When I looked up, there was no bird in the sky at that moment so perhaps it had already flown by.

Returning home in time for my afternoon meditation and contemplation, I opened a small book called Devotions, Prayers and Living Wisdom of Hildegard of Bingen, edited by Mirabai Starr.

It opened to Chapter Three to a story called, The Feather. Doesn’t that just make you smile? Since my plan was to write this article after my meditation, I decided it’s perfect to share with you today.

The Feather

One morning, the abbess (Hildegard) was leaning out the window of her cell, overlooking the Rhine. A breath of wind fluttered her veil and carried the scent of water to her face. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. (more…)

Article Highlights

• This is your brain on survival
• Survival r us
• An Epic negative human tendency

Dear ,

I got to meet my survival self head-on, literally, one morning in New Zealand, 1996 or so.  I rushed in to the bathroom in my hotel room, slipping on the wet floor.  I launched through the air and fiercely smashed the side of my head against a brass doorknob.  It knocked me out.

As a neuro-specialist later told me, my neocortex, or thinking brain, was stunned and non-functioning so my physical operation was taken over by the so-called “reptilian” brain” and limbic system.  I was now in pure survival brain mode.

When I came to I had no consciousness as myself – this operates through the neocortex or thinking brain.  I only had awareness of being endangered, cold, shaking and I felt terrified of a bad noise in the sky.  There was no “self” awareness, just an urgent instinct to seek warmth and safety. (more…)

Dear Dream Dreamer,

April 1 seems a good day to speak of illusions and dreams. Following your dreams can be one or the other, right? And sometimes it isn’t easy to tell which is which. We can get confused about our dreams. That’s because we perhaps have a little kink or two in how we think of this.

One morning recently, I thought of a short poetic way of rethinking this. I wrote it down and want to ponder it further here with you.

May the dreams that you most profoundly are, be the dreams that you dream most true.
I’ll see you in the dreaming, dear friend,
~ X♥️Ma HuLiLi (more…)